Following the success of the inaugural Dhahan Prize, submissions are now open for the world’s signature prize in Punjabi literature on January 1, 2015. Eligible authors writing in either of the two Punjabi scripts, Gurmukhi and Shahmukhi, are invited to submit a work of fiction for the $25,000 CDN first prize.

Novels and short story collections published in 2014 will be accepted from January 1 to March 15, 2015 at http://www.dhahanprize.com. Two second place prizes of $5,000 CDN will also be awarded.

Vancouver’s Barj Dhahan is doing what he can to preserve the Punjabi language, not only in Canada but around the globe.

According to Dhahan, the United Nations has claimed Punjabi language is at risk of extinction within the next 50 years because of the dominance of English, so as co-founder of the Canada-India Education Society (CIES), he launched the annual Dhahan prize for Punjabi literature, which sees $25,000 go to a modern Punjabi writer each year.